COLOMBO: The Chinese government has communicated that the South Asian branch of People’s Bank of China would be established in Colombo, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said in Parliament yesterday. He said China has made this decision parallel to the Sri Lankan government’s decision to develop the Port City as a Financial and Commercial Hub.
“The RMB has received the global currency status similar to the USD. This would be an important move,” he said.
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The Prime Minister made these observations while answering a question by JVP MP Bimal Rathnayake. The Prime Minister agreed to present the concept report of the ‘Financial and Commercial City’ to Parliament once finalised.
“We are preparing the report. It will be discussed with the Chinese government and presented to Parliament,” he said. Raising a supplementary question, Chief Opposition Whip and JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake asked as to why the government selected the proposed Port City for the establishment of the Financial and Commercial City when alternatives were available.
“This city is built on a reclaimed land of 269 hectares. As the Prime Minister stated it requires 65 million cubic metres of sand and 3.4 million cubic metres of rocks. Rock materials are to be obtained from 11 quarries in Hanwella, Padukka, Kaduwela and Diwulapitiya.
“There wasn’t a proper Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) in this regard. Even the EIA conducted says about 5,000 fisher families would be affected. Rs. 900 million has been allocated to compensate them. One family will get only Rs 55,000. The sand is obtained from the sea close to Negombo lagoon. The total sand quantity available in the area is 120 million cubic metres.
If 65 million cubic metres are extracted, the lagoon will be in severe danger. The area is a breeding spot of sea mammals, including the whales and dolphins. With the extraction of sand, these species will be badly affected,” he said. Replying to the concerns, the Prime Minister said the Port City was selected for the purpose of the Financial and Commercial City due to the spacious land. He said the issue of fisher families is being looked into adding that if environmental issues crop up, those would be addressed by the Megapolis and Western Development Ministry.
